


Shut Up and Marry Me Already

by MasterOverlordKai



Category: Pacific Rim
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-02
Updated: 2018-04-02
Packaged: 2019-04-17 03:10:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,303
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14179236
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MasterOverlordKai/pseuds/MasterOverlordKai
Summary: Raleigh has something he needs to do. Unfortunately, he needs more than one push in the right direction to actually do it.





	Shut Up and Marry Me Already

**Author's Note:**

  * For [GutterBallGT (GutterBall)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/GutterBall/gifts).



> I don’t really know what this is, but I had fun writing it. I hope you all enjoy! :D

The thing about living on the verge of the apocalypse was that after a while, you learned not to waste time. If you didn’t, you tended to miss out on a lot of good stuff. Raleigh learned that the hard way, when half his soul got ripped out of his mind and body, taking with it all the things he’d never had the guts to say.

But this wasn’t the apocalypse. Not anymore. This was... well, it wasn’t peace, because there was still a hell of a mess left, but it was something that, for once, didn’t involve fighting for their lives against giant alien monsters, so Raleigh had no reason to avoid any unsavory conversations. At least, that’s what Mako had said. He argued that he also had no reason to pursue those conversations when their lives weren’t in the balance, but Mako had just given him a stern look.

Suddenly the tiny box in his pocket felt a lot heavier.

Despite the very... persuasive conversation with his old drift partner, Raleigh just couldn’t get the nerve to go through with it. So instead he hid the box in his desk drawer and tried to forget he had ever even come up with the idea.

Several months later, and Raleigh had nearly succeeded. Nearly. He was unfortunately reminded of it when one Sasha Kaidanovsky was rooting through his things, looking for the t-shirt she had left in his room during their last sleepover. She was shuffling through his desk, despite his insistence that the garment wasn’t there, when she stopped and stared for a long moment.

"What?" Raleigh demanded, getting off his bed and moving to look over her shoulder. His eyes widened when he saw what she did. "Oh. That."

Sasha whirled around to face him, a smirk on her face. "Is little Becket planning something?" she asked slyly, and Raleigh felt his face burn.

"No," he said defensively, shutting the desk drawer with more force than was necessary. "I’ve had it for months. To be honest, I forgot about it."

"So you will not propose?" Sasha never was one to beat around the bush. That was one of the reasons Raleigh loved her. It was also one of the reasons he hated her.

"No. Yes? I don’t know." He scruffed his hands through his hair and sighed heavily. "I want to. Really badly."

"Then do it."

Raleigh sighed again and looked at her sheepishly. "What if he says no?"

To be fair, he did deserve the smack on the head she gave him.

~~~~~~~~~~

Things had changed a lot since Knifehead. Raleigh had changed a lot. Before, he had made everything a display. From the way he walked, to the way he flirted, his presence was so large and demanding it was hard not to pay attention to him. Yancy had been annoyed by it, seeing right through all the false bravado and calling him out on it more than once. Back then, Raleigh would get mad when Yancy tripped him or made an embarrassing remark.

But that was the old Raleigh. This Raleigh would give anything to have that again.

However, this Raleigh didn’t do any of those things that the old Raleigh did. This Raleigh walked with a limp, not a swagger, and his words were stuttered and halted, not smooth and easy like they had been before. This Raleigh was half the man he used to be, and yet somehow, at the same time, he was so much more.

So even though large public displays weren’t his style anymore, Raleigh wanted to do something special for this. He knew Chuck would probably kill him for it later, but he also knew it would be so worth it.

It was dinner time in the mess, the only time of day when it seemed as if every person in the Shatter dome were all in the same room together. Raleigh and Chuck entered, and a hush fell over the entire room. Chuck looked around, frowning. "The fuck are you all staring at?" he demanded loudly, causing a few chuckles from the crowd. Frustrated, he turned to Raleigh for an explanation, only Raleigh wasn’t there. He had moved over to the closest table, standing up on it so everyone could see him.

"Chuck Hansen," he said with a grin, spreading his arms out wide. "You are... the best thing that has ever happened to me. I never knew when we met that we could ever have what we have now, but standing here, looking at you... I now - I know there’s nowhere else I’d rather be." Wincing slightly over his slip, Raleigh reached into his pocket and pulled out the small box he’d had for months, tossing it straight into Chuck's waiting hands. "And if it’s alright with you, I’d like to be here for the rest of my life, however... however long that may be. Will you marry me?"

Chuck opened the box to see a simple golden band with a thing silver ring in the middle resting on a pillow of velvet, gleaming in the fluorescent lights of the mess. He looked up at Raleigh, who was still standing on the table with an anxious look on his face. "You fucking moron," he said, but he was grinning from ear to ear. "Of course I will!"

The entire room erupted in cheers and Raleigh's face broke into a relieved smile. Two engineers slowly helped him down from the table, and Chuck immediately yanked him into a bruising kiss. "You are so never living this down," he whispered when they parted.

Raleigh's smile widened. "I’m counting on it."

"So when’s the wedding?" a random tech shouted as the noise quieted down some.

Herc approached the two boys and clapped them on the shoulders. "How about now?" he suggested. At both their curious looks, he explained, "As acting marshal, I have a lot of perks. One of them being I can officiate officer weddings. Shall we?"

"I don’t have a ring for myself," Raleigh protested.

Mako appeared at his side and held up a silver band with a thin golden ring in the middle. "I got it when you showed me Chuck's," she said, dropping it in Raleigh's and and taking a step back.

"Alright, let’s get this show on the road," Herc said, clapping his hands. "Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to bear witness the joining of these two men in holy matrimony. Blah blah blah, marriage is a sacred union, blah blah blah. If anyone has any reason that these two should not be married, speak now or forever hold your peace."

It was so silent you could hear a pin drop. Raleigh and Chuck grinned at each other.

"Alright, then. Chuck, do you take Raleigh to be your lawfully wedded husband?"

"You bet your ass I do," Chuck said. There was laughter from the crowd.

"Raleigh, do you take Chuck to be your lawfully wedded husband?"

"Hell yeah I do," Raleigh replied, and there was more laughter.

"Then by the powers vested in me, I now pronounce you gay and married!" Herc announced. "You may kiss."

Chuck took Raleigh’s face in his hands and kissed him. It was both rough and gentle, soft and hard, sweet and desperate. Raleigh wrapped his arms around Chuck and held on for the ride, joy sweeping over him over the fact that he was kissing his husband.

The applause was nearly deafening, and Raleigh laughed as some of the cooking staff threw dried rice at them. He pressed his forehead against Chuck's and closed his eyes, basking in the warmth. "I love you so much."

Chuck laughed and kissed his nose. "Love you more."

Raleigh grinned and kissed his husband again.

His husband. God.

If Yancy could see him now.

**Author's Note:**

> Ta-da! I hope you liked it! Please let me know what you think, or if I need to edit anything. Thanks so much for reading!!


End file.
